The invention relates to an arrangement for supporting a shell into the barrel of a breech-loading weapon, the arrangement comprising a support piece provided with a rim flange and to be fastened in connection with the tail of the shell.
The invention further relates to a method of fastening a support piece to a shell, the method comprising fastening the support piece provided with a rim flange in connection with the tail of the shell.
Mortars are nowadays mounted on movable bases, allowing them to be moved from one place to another and, correspondingly, allowing them to be rapidly moved from the emplacement. A problem in such solutions is the ability of said base, i.e. vehicle, to defend itself against possible attacks, and the use of the vehicle for destroying close-range targets on the ground. A moving base provided with a heavy mortar is normally unable to carry heavy defensive facilities in addition to the mortar, instead, it is at most provided with a heavy machine gun or corresponding lighter armature. In such a situation, it is necessary to be able to use the mortar also for firing in the horizontal plane or below it, for which normal mortar shells and mortars are not suited. In the case of a normal mortar having a smooth barrel, when the barrel of the mortar is oriented in the horizontal direction or below it, the shell inside the barrel is able to move in the barrel in such a manner that it either falls from the barrel or moves forward to such an extent that the firing pin of the mortar no longer hits the shell, and the shell does not go off. A solution to this problem is described in US publication 5 503 080, disclosing a control and fastening piece to be fastened to the tail of a conventional shell by means of a friction-based clip bond. However, such a friction-based bond is not as such very dependable and, in addition, the tolerances of both the manufacture of the shell and the manufacture of the control and fastening pieces cause variations in the fastening force and the stability.
WO application Fl 98/00064 presents a solution, wherein a support piece provided with a rim flange is fastened to the tail of a conventional shell by means of a mechanical locking.